In
1513, a feast of "The Holy Name of Mary" was granted by Pope Julius
II to the diocese of Cuenta in Spain. It was assigned with proper
Office to September 15, the octave day of Our Lady's Nativity. With
the reform of the Breviary undertaken by Pope St. Pius V, the feast
was abrogated only to be reinstituted by Pope Sixtus V, who changed
the date to September 17. From there, the feast spread to all of
Spain and to the Kingdom of Naples.

Throughout time, permission to celebrate
the feast was given to various religious orders. Pope Innocent XI
extended "The Feast of the Holy Name of Mary" to the Universal
Church. The feast was first celebrated on the Sunday after the
Nativity of Mary, Pope St. Pius X [+1914] decreed that it be
celebrated on September 12 to commemorate victory
over the Turks
at the
Battle of
Vienna in
1683.After a short
period when it was removed because it was considered a duplication it of
the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on September
8,
the memorial was restored to
September
12.

We venerate the
name of Mary
because it belongs to her who is the Mother of
God,
the holiest of creatures, the Queen of
heaven
and earth, the Mother of Mercy. The object of the
feast
is the Holy Virgin bearing the name of Mirjam (Mary); the
feast
commemorates all the
privileges
given to Mary by
God
and all the
graces
we have received through her
intercession
and mediation.

Pondering the Meaning of "Mary"

The rendering of the name Mary in Hebrew
is Miryam and in Aramaic, the spoken language at Our Lady’s time, was
Mariam. Derived from the root, merur, the name
signifies "bitterness." Throughout the centuries, Saints and
scholars have proposed different interpretations for the name
"Mary." A mixture of etymology and devotion produced an interesting
array of meanings:

"Mary means enlightener, because she
brought forth the Light of the world. In the Syriac tongue, Mary
signifies Lady." [St. Isidore of Seville +636]

"Let me say something concerning this
name also, which is interpreted to mean Star of the sea,[1]
and admirably suits the Virgin Mother." [St. Bernard +1153]

"Therefore a certain Star has risen for
us today: Our Lady, Saint Mary. Her name means Star of the sea;
no doubt the Star of this sea which is the world. Therefore,
we ought to lift up our eyes to this Star that has appeared on earth
today in order that she may lead us, in order that she may enlighten
us, in order that she may show us these steps so that we shall know
them, in order that she may help us so that we may be able to
ascend. And therefore it is a beautiful thing that Mary is placed in
this stairway of which we are speaking, there where we must begin to
climb. As the Evangelist says, Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of
Mary, so immediately at the very moment of our conversion she
appears to us and receives us into her care and enlightens us in her
light and accompanies us along this laborious path." [St. Aelred
+1167]

"Mary means Star of the sea, for as
mariners are guided to port by the ocean star, so Christians attain
to glory through Mary's maternal intercession." [St. Thomas Aquinas
+1274]

"This most holy, sweet and worthy name
was 'eminently fitted to so holy, sweet and worthy a virgin. For
Mary means a bitter sea,[2]
star of the sea, the illuminated or illuminatrix.[3]
Mary is interpreted Lady. Mary is a bitter sea to the demons; to men
she is the Star of the sea; to the Angels she is illuminatrix, and
to all creatures she is Lady."[4]
[St. Bonaventure +1274]

"God the Father gathered all the waters
together and called them the seas or maria [Latin, seas]. He
gathered all His grace together and called it Mary or Maria . . .
This immense treasury is none other than Mary whom the saints call
the 'treasury of the Lord.' From her fullness all men are made
rich." [St. Louis de Montfort +1716]

It is not difficult to see why these
various interpretations of the name "Mary" should have been proposed
and cherished, for they encapsulate many of our Marian doctrines and
beliefs. Among the many, one interpretation for the name "Mary"
highlights the relationship of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the
Church. It is derived from the Hebrew verb mara, meaning "to
be fleshy or robust” and implicitly pointing to Our Lady’s beauty
and spiritual fecundity. She is the Tota Pulchra, the
Beautiful One.

by
Sister Danielle Peters

[1] The title,
"Star of the Sea," dates back to St. Jerome [+420]. It has
been said that the great Doctor had originally used the
phrase Stilla Maris to describe Mary as a "drop of
the sea," the sea being God. A copyist's error, then, could
have resulted in stilla [drop] being written down as
stella [star]. Of course, the hallowed title, "Star
of the Sea," suits Our Lady perfectly.

[2]
"Bitter sea [mara = bitter; yam = sea]," in addition to the
interpretation given by St. Bonaventure, also calls to mind
Our Lady's Seven Sorrows and the sword which "pierced" Her
soul on Calvary, recalling the lamentation of the
mother-in-law of Ruth, who had lost a husband and two sons:
"Call me not noemi, [that is, beautiful,] but call me
Mara, [that is, bitter,] for the Almighty hath quite
filled me with bitterness [Rt. 1: 20]." Maror are
"bitter herbs," such as are found on the seder plate at
Passover.

[3] The
"Illuminated" points us to St. John's apocalyptic image of
the "Woman clothed with the Sun," a dual image encompassing
both, the Catholic Church and Mary, the Mother and Image of
the Church.

[4] The
interpretation "Lady" for Mary was also proposed by St.
Jerome, based on the Aramaic word, mar, meaning
"Lord." This would render the meaning "Lady" in the regal or
noble sense [as in "Lord and Lady."] Catholic sensibility,
however, recognizing in Mary the simple dignity of a Mother,
as well as the grandeur of a Queen, did not hesitate to add
an affectionate touch to this majestic title. Mary is not
just "Lady"; She is "Madonna," Notre Dame i.e., she is Our
Lady.

This page, maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute,
Dayton, Ohio 45469-1390, and created by
Kelly Bodner
, was last modified
Friday, 09/05/2008 14:46:53 EDT
by
Kelly Bodner
. Please send any comments to jroten1@udayton.edu.